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Monday, April 13, 2015

MMGM: The Case of the Missing Moonstone (The Wollenstonecraft Detective Agency, Book 1)

A few years ago, while perusing Kickstarter, I came across an
intriguing concept for a mystery series about two real-life historical figures
(Lady Ada Byron—the first female computer programmer) and Mary Godwin (the
author of Frankenstein). Boy, did I want to read that book.

A few weeks ago I got my hands on The Wollenstonecraft
Detective Agency. I didn’t realize at
first that this was the same book. But when I did a little research, I learned the
author initially had asked for $4,000 on Kickstarter, but raised over $90,000
on his campaign, got an agent, and a book deal. Three more books in the series are
forthcoming.

It seems that I’m not the only one who loves to read about
real historical figures solving crimes, especially if the writing is fun with
references to math, science, and literature.

The synopsis (from Amazon):

Jordan Stratford
imagines an alternate 1826, where Ada Lovelace (the world’s first computer
programmer) and Mary Shelley (author of Frankenstein)
meet as girls and form a secret detective agency!
Lady Ada Byron, age eleven, is a genius. Isolated, awkward and a bit rude—but a
genius. Mary Godwin, age fourteen, is a romantic. Adventurous, astute, and
kind, Mary is to become Ada’s first true friend. And together, the girls
conspire to form the Wollstonecraft Detective Agency—a secret constabulary for
the apprehension of clever criminals. Their first case involves a stolen
heirloom, a false confession, and an array of fishy suspects. But it’s no match
for the deductive powers and bold hearts of Ada and Mary.

Mystery fans will love this tween girl riff on Sherlock Holmes and John Watson.
History buffs will be delighted to see all the real figures who play a role in
this story and appreciate the extensive backmatter that helps separate truth
from fiction. Parents and educators hoping to promote the STEM fields for girls
will be thrilled to have a series where two girls use math, science, and
creative analytical thinking to solve crimes. But most especially--emerging
readers will love this series filled with humor, action, intrigue and wonderful
artwork from Kelly Murphy.

What I loved:

1. Main
characters who showed both sides of intelligence: I loved that Mary was
more imaginative, creativity and intuitive, while Ada was more scientific and
math minded. They contrasted and complimented each other well. This also showed
that all kinds of intelligence are
needed in this world.

2. Reads
like a who’s-who of 1826: Strafford doesn’t just love science and math, but
literature. I loved that Dickens and Percy Bysshe Shelley are characters, and
others like Wollenstonecraft and Babbage are mentioned. Literature-geek that I
am, I ate all this up.

3. Fun
language: This book is a book that doesn’t take itself too seriously. “Who
the dickens was that boy?” asks a character after Charles Dickens leaves the
room. Lines like this kept me smiling and added a lot of whimsy.

4. Theme
that solving problems is not just about formulas: I think this is a theme
that will really appeal to many kids, especially creative-types. You don’t have
to be a math genius to solve complicated
problems or even crimes like Mary and Ada do.

5.Characterization:
The character of Lady Ada was particularly well done. Her ineptitude in social
situations provided a lot of humor, but I also enjoyed her character arc.

My only quibble is that the last chapter seemed to be tacked
on to introduce characters that would appear in the next novel, so it felt a
bit tacked on for the sequel. But that is a small thing in an otherwise
brilliantly executed first novel.

This series reminded me a bit of Nancy Springer’s Enola
Holmes series (about Sherlock’s sister). If you like historical and mysteries and
people from the Romantic era in England, you will love this book.

That sounds awesome! My English class just completed reading FRANKENSTEIN (tonight's reading was the last one, actually), so it'd be really fun to see how the author interpreted Mary Shelley's personality. Thanks for sharing!

Have you read The Agency books by Y.S. Lee? Mysteries set in Victorian England with a smart female lead. I really enjoyed them. No famous historical characters, though! Love the concept of the Wollenstonecraft Detective Agency!

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About Me

I'm a special educator, mom to boys, and writer. Writing and reading middle grade fiction is my passion. In my free moments, I love watching period pieces and exploring nature with my husband and two sons.I blog on Mondays and the first Wednesday of the month.